


please come home for christmas

by Jambalambam



Category: Mindhunter (TV 2017)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:41:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22069456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jambalambam/pseuds/Jambalambam
Summary: Bill is alone on Christmas and Holden offers to keep him company
Relationships: Holden Ford & Bill Tench, Holden Ford/Bill Tench
Comments: 3
Kudos: 37





	please come home for christmas

**Author's Note:**

> Happy New Year!!  
> This is for the Mindhunter discord gift exchange, and I got Meg (moonrocks). If you haven't checked out their stuff, you definitely should because it's all fantastic!!  
> So to Meg and all the others, enjoy!

It’s Christmas and Bill is alone in his apartment, drowning himself in whiskey. He was supposed to be at dinner with Nancy, her mother, and Brian, but they canceled on him last minute. 

He's not sure if they actually canceled dinner or if Nancy is still not ready to see him. It's been several months since she picked up and left him with very little communication during the weeks since. 

So here he sits on his crappy Lazy Boy, glass of whiskey in hand, eyes trained on the television, and a small gift for Brian sitting on the side table, unopened.

He looks over to a clock on that same side table. It reads 9:34pm.

Bill lets out a puff of air and drags a hand down his tired face. He hasn't eaten dinner yet and he's exhausted. He’s been watching the same Christmas specials over and over again for at least four hours. 

That is, until the phone rings. 

Bill casts a glance towards the phone, distantly wondering if it's Nancy. He knows it probably isn't, but decides to get up anyway. He walks over to the phone slowly, grumbling as he goes along. He finally reaches it and picks up the handset. 

“Hello?” 

“Hey, Bill,” The voice of Holden comes through the receiver. 

“What do you need Holden?” Bill asks, slightly perturbed. He'd rather have spent his evening alone and unbothered at this point. But it's too late for that now. 

“Nothing, nothing. I was just calling to wish you a Merry Christmas. It's almost over and I just realized I hadn't,” Holden explains. 

“Well, thanks. Merry Christmas, Holden,” Bill says, resting a hand on his hip. 

There's a moment of silence between the two of them before Holden speaks again. 

“So, how has your Christmas been?” Holden asks. 

“Fine,” Bill says with a sigh, before he continues to speak. “Actually it's been kind of shitty, but there's not much I can do now.”

“How so?” Holden questions, genuine curiosity in his voice.

Bill sighs again before speaking. 

“Nancy canceled on me for Christmas dinner. This is the first year that I've spent Christmas without seeing her or Brian since we adopted him,” Bill says. His fingers suddenly itch for the glass of whiskey he had. Holden hums in understanding. 

“I'm sorry to hear that, Bill,” He says, apologetic. “What have you been doing all day then?” 

“Watching Christmas specials and drinking whiskey,” Bill laughs in spite of himself. 

“That's it?” 

“Yeah,” 

“Did you at least eat dinner?” Holden sounds surprisingly worried. 

“No,” Bill answers simply. He can hear Holden sigh over the line and small smile creeps onto his face. 

“I've got a proposal for you, then,” Holden says confidently. 

“Oh yeah?” Bill crosses his arms. 

“How about I pick up some take out and come over there so we're not both drinking alone on Christmas?” Holden asks. 

Bill stays silent for a moment. Does he want to spend what's left of his Christmas with Holden? The man can be insufferable and awkward to the point that Bill can't even be around him at times. Though the more he thinks about it, he'd prefer having at least someone to sit with on Christmas so that he doesn't feel like a total loser. 

So he finally answers with: “If you're paying.”

“Okay, I'll be there in forty-five minutes,” Holden says, a smile in his voice. 

Their conversation ends there and Bill hangs up the phone. He stands in front of it for a minute or two before making his way back to the Lazy Boy and his unfinished glass of whiskey. He sits and watches part of another Christmas special, finishing his glass. 

After a bit, he stands up to tidy up the apartment until he hears a knock on the door.   
Bill yanks the door open to reveal Holden with a six-pack of beer in one hand and the take out in the other. He looks cold, his nose and cheeks dusted with red. 

“Sorry, I didn't have time to get a present,” Holden jokes. 

“Don't worry, the food is a gift in itself,” Bill says, grinning. He steps aside to let Holden in. Holden kicks off his shoes at the door and looks around. 

“No Christmas decorations?” 

“You're one to talk, Holden,” 

“Yeah, I guess you're right,” Holden surrenders, walking over to Bill's kitchen table and setting the food down. He walks over to the refrigerator and puts the six-pack in. 

Bill comes over to the table and starts unwrapping the food. Holden peeks out from behind the refrigerator door. 

“Want a beer?” He asks. 

“Sure,” Bill says, continuing to place food around the table. Holden brings over the beers and walks back into the kitchenette. 

“Where are your plates?” Holden asks. 

“In the cupboard above the sink,” Bill hollers, folding up the paper bag the food came in. 

“Silverware?” 

“In the drawer next to the stove,” 

Holden eventually comes back to the table and sets two plates and two sets of silverware down on the table. Bill grabs a bottle opener from one of the side tables in the living room and cracks open both of their beers. 

The two sit down at the table, looking over the various noodles, vegetables, and sauce covered meats that Holden purchased. 

Holden holds up his bottle of beer towards Bill, a small smile on his face. 

“Merry Christmas, Bill,” 

Bill pauses for a beat before raising his bottle and clinking it against Holden's. 

“Merry Christmas, Holden.”


End file.
